CHAPTER 4: The Enlightenment 1700 - 1789
Concepts
Agricultural Revolution – Agriculture was becoming increasingly commercialized especially on large estates where landlords wanted to make profit from their land. Most innovations were in England, northern Italy, and the Netherlands. Charles Townsend Fertilizers introduced fertilizers and also instituted a new system of crop rotation which made more food available for both animals and humans. These and other crop innovations are what made up the Agricultural Revolution.
Enclosure – Was the movement where lords consolidated their land. The innovations in agriculture led to huge changes in land distribution. In some areas of Europe, particularly in Britain, landlords wanted to earn higher profits from their land so they abandoned the centuries-old system of land division. The landlords, in the mid 18th Century, began reclaiming common land and renting out strips in large, fences-in fields. Enclosures often resulted in riots led by unhappy peasants and caused economics and social conflict. (Both the Agricultural Revolution and the Enclosure were most prevalent west of the Elbe River in Europe.)
Freemasonry – Freemasons were members of a fraternal order of free thinkers who were particularly influential in 18th Century Europe. The founders of this secret society, called “The Craft,” were the builders of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which was destroyed during the Roman period. Historians associate the origin of the Freemasonry with the Templars, a military order of Catholic monks sent to Jerusalem during the Crusades in the 12th Century. However, historically the Freemasonry stared ion the rooms of a London bad near the Anglican Cathedral of Saint Paul in June of 1717. Freemasons promoted freedom of speech, thought and belief. They helped spread leading ideas in the Enlightenment.
People
Cesare Beccaria (1738 – 1794) – Was a noble man from Milan, Italy who had strong views on the need to change the way the criminal justice system treated the accused. He, and another group of writers, believed that harsh punishment did nothing to reform the individual. He enjoyed discussion generated by the intellectual periodical called The Café. He wrote On Crimes and Punishment in 1764, which called for an end to the judicial torture of suspects and of capital punishment. Many “enlightened” rulers admired Beccaria’s book, however one monk by the name of Facchini published a book denouncing him as an enemy of religion and The Venetian Inquisition attacked the book as well. Although the book was a success, most of Europe remained in favor of torturing criminals.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778) – One of the foremost minds of the 18th Century. He was most concerned with the moral reform of society. He was an eccentric loner who detested salons. Rousseau did not accept the Enlightenment notion that the world was improving. His moral indignation and sense of spiritual superiority echoed the Calvinism of his Swiss childhood. He was also a musician and wrote articles about music for the Encyclopedia. Major works include his Discourse on the Arts and Science (1749), The Social Contract (early 1760s), and Emile (early 1760s). He fled to Switzerland in 1765 where he wrote his autobiography, Confessions. He returned to Paris and by 1777 he was mentally unstable which made city life unbearable. He moved to a country cottage near Ermonville where he died in 1778.
Adam Smith (1723 – 1790) – A Scottish economist with a remarkable intellect. He was a proponent of free trade whose work was translated into many languages before 1800. His writings reflect the intellectual, social, and economic conditions of the time. His Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations (1776) emphasized the need for free trade and argued that the invisible hand of competition should regulate the economy through supply and demand. Unlike his contemporaries whose fame came in time, Smith was famous during his lifetime. He described a type of capitalist economy and tried to explain the laws that governed its operation. He was an optimist but industrialists later used his theories to legitimize their exploitation of the working class.